An annual fundraiser for helping artists who are struggling financially with medical costs is taking place this Saturday.
The Artists’ Charitable Fund is hosting its 28th annual art auction at North Lake Park amphitheater where the group will auction off sculptures and paintings for the fund.
Attendees can preview the art being auctioned starting at 6 p.m. and the live auction is slated to run from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Free refreshments will be available at the event.
The live auction will feature mainly original pieces of sculptures and paintings from artists across the state. A coinciding silent auction will also feature collected art and lower-valued pieces.
Loveland-based and well-known sculptor George Lundeen, also one of the founders of the fund, will return as the auctioneer of the event and will help auction off pieces that include his own bronze work.
Since the beginning of the fund almost 30 years ago, it has raised over $500,000 for artists who need support for medical or dental bills. In the past, the organization has helped pay for an eye surgery, a wheelchair, an artificial leg and medical bills for artists dealing with cancer.
This past year, a unique situation prompted the fund to help a 40-year-old artist living in another state.
Judy Archibald, the fund’s coordinator, said they received a four-page letter in May from a woman detailing horrors with her abusive husband. She said the husband would physically abuse the woman and once she got the courage to leave him, the husband burned down her art studio with all of her work in it.
Afterward, the woman reached out to the fund for support and the fund agreed to pay for her lost art supplies and five months of rent for her new studio. It’s the first time the fund has helped an artist dealing with abuse, but Archibald said the fund is open to helping unique situations.
“We’ve helped (artists) in floods and fires, but mostly we help when they have health concerns, that’s our main assistance. This was an unusual request, but the board voted unanimously to help her,” said Archibald.
Archibald said last year’s auction raised approximately $50,000 with donations and purchases and 100% of the auction funds goes toward helping artists with financial need.
To find more information and preview two pieces of art up for auction on Saturday, visit artistscharitablefund.org/auction.html.
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